Grinding Wheels and Zip Discs

Jeff NWOH

Member
Just wondering what you all like for 4.5" grinding wheels and 6" cut off
discs?

I bought Sait grinding wheels last time. I worked a couple winters at a
small factory where they used them. I thought they lasted pretty well.
Also ran through a bunch of Dewalt I got at an auction. No complaints on
either.

For cut off discs I've also burned through a bunch of auction specials.
Really can't remember what they were. I bought a box of metabo slicers
last time. They are about gone now. No complaints on those either. I
have one of the diamond wheels, but still like that abrasive wheels for
majority of what I do.

I'm not looking for the cheapest wheels. Just wondering what you think
are the best value? I figure this is like asking what kind of truck to
buy.......so it should be interesting.
 
I've tried a lot of different brands too, haven't found any to be exceptionally better than the other. Usually go for the bargain priced ones.

Hard to say if one is better than the other, or if it was the material, ease of position, pressure applied, etc.

I mostly use the thick 40 grit flap discs instead of grinding discs. They do so much better job, cost more but worth it to me.
 
About 10 years ago I bought a case of them at a discount outlet. I figured they would be equal to HF but boy was I wrong. I paid 15.00 for 120 wheels.This place gets these from China in a big container. When I opened the box and put them away there was Robi, Dewalt. makita plus others that I did not reconize. I wounder if they are all made in the same place and just relabeled. They have held up very well for me
 
(quoted from post at 20:04:25 11/18/17) Just wondering what you all like for 4.5" grinding wheels and 6" cut off
discs?

I bought Sait grinding wheels last time. I worked a couple winters at a
small factory where they used them. I thought they lasted pretty well.
Also ran through a bunch of Dewalt I got at an auction. No complaints on
either.

For cut off discs I've also burned through a bunch of auction specials.
Really can't remember what they were. I bought a box of metabo slicers
last time. They are about gone now. No complaints on those either. I
have one of the diamond wheels, but still like that abrasive wheels for
majority of what I do.

I'm not looking for the cheapest wheels. Just wondering what you think
are the best value? I figure this is like asking what kind of truck to
buy.......so it should be interesting.

I like SAIT and Metabo for cutoff wheels... Norton gives me the best wear on flap disk... I've learned not to bear down and force the cut or grind and things tend to last a lot longer...I don't know how I ever got by without my Metabo 6"... Haven't had my porta-band out of the box in years.
 
Don't remember the name of them but I bought the higher priced ones from Menard's last time I was in there. Far Out lasting harbor freight.
 
I like the Sait grinding disk the best. On cutoff wheel I like Benchmark abrasives. I use the 4 1/2 x 0.40 x 7/8 Type 1. These are good even for stainless steel too. I buy them off Ebay. They are very reasonable. I just ordered some and they where $59.95 for 100 disks. So just 60 cents each.
Benchmark cuttoff wheels
 

I like the flap wheels too. I think that the red Devil or something like that lasts well. I was going through a lot of cut-off discs so I went on line and bought a box of I think over 100 Chinese ones. They hold up same as the others, and cost a third as much, and I haven't run out and go get some in a year and a half.
 
I like CDW, but lost my supply connection. Keen from Canada sell on that auction site, their 4&1/2 x .045 cutoffs work great and are about $1 each.
 












I have tried $3 buck a piece 4.5" cutoffs and the $.60 HF cutoffs. The more expensive ones go a little further, but if you look at value the HF cutoffs cut just as much per $$$ as the more expensive ones.
I'm a pretty cheep guy; and I recycle my 14" cutoff wheels to my 7" angle grinder, and when worn down, on that, they go onto my 4.5" angle grinder. Those 14" HF wheels give me the best bang for the buck, but they are a bit thicker.
Loren
 
I always use the Harper Frt. cheap ones but they seem to go fast. I brought some for 3 bucks a piece at Granger the other day to see if it was worth it to spend the extra money on them. I haven't tried one out yet. I have used the Dewalt ones but didn't think they were worth the extra money. Although that was a while ago.
 
I have noticed that the higher priced grinder / flap / cut off wheels last a little longer but I usually feel I get more use for the money with the lower priced wheels . If I were paying employees high wages to make production the high quality may be worth it .

The one grinding wheels I do not like , which are the ones from my last ebay purchase , are the "Power Mike" wheels . Most wear egg shaped and make the grinder vibrate .
 
Last year I decided to try to do a fair comparison of some of the 4-1/2" cut off disks that are readily available. I bought every brand that was sold at Home Depot, Harbor Freight, and Lowes. I don't remember now where I got what, but the brands I got are Dewalt (2 varieties), AvantiPRO, Diablo, Norton, Warrior 40 grit (1/16" thick), and Warrior 60 grit (3/64" thick). I bought a device from Northern Tool called an Angle Grinder Holder which allows you to mount an angle grinder so that it becomes a mini chop saw. I planned to test the disks by seeing how many pieces I could slice off a length of 7/8" rebar. I did not make any provision for assuring that exactly the same amount of pressure would be applied for every cut, but I intended to try to be as consistent as possible. I have no reason to attempt to have any one brand outperform any other, and an objective outcome would be useful to me, too. Late in the summer when I finally got around to assembling the angle grinder holder, I was slightly disappointed by it. It was more clever than robust. Still, I thought it would work well enough for me to do my research project. I mounted an unused Harbor Freight Drillmaster (their cheapest) angle grinder in the holder. I figured it didn't make any difference what angle grinder I used as long as I used the same one every time. The right-out-of-the-box angle grinder stopped working during the second practice cut I made while I was adjusting it to the holder. I've had reasonably good luck with these angle grinders in the past, so it was unclear to me whether I'd just gotten a bad one right out of the box (always a possibility with Harbor Freight tools), or if something about the angle grinder holder had caused the grinder to burn out. I'd already spent too much of the middle of a nice work day setting up the experiment, and I was pretty discouraged, so I just put everything away with the intention of doing it later. It's later now, and I still haven't done it, but I still plan to...sometime.

Stan
 
I bought a couple of those and find they work great for the intended purpose, like polishing up a rusted surface before MIG welding. Much better than a grinder.
 
Best cutting and grinding wheels I've ever used were 3M cubitron. Absolutely amazing wheels. Last forever. And don't make grinding dust, but a pile of really small metal chips from grinding/cutting. they cost a bit more, but outlasted anything else I've used by a wide margin.

Donovan from Wisconsin
 

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